Mining-machine.



PATENTED AUG. 18. 1903.

H. B. DIERDORFF. MINING MACHINE. APPLICATION EILEE 13110.10, 1896.RENEWED M0. 28. 1898.

EEHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 736.705. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1903. HLB. DIERDORFP.

MINING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 10, 1896. RENEWED DBO. 2a, 1898.

no MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented August 18, 1903.

PATENT FFICE.

HENRY B. DIERDORFF, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH A. JEF- FREY,OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

MINING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,705, dated August18, 1903.

Application filed December 10, 1896. Renewed December 28, 1898. SerialNo; 700,559. (No models) T to whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY B. DIERDORFF, a citizen of the United States,residing at O0- lumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mining-Machines;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a mining-machine sufficient toillustrate the manner of applying my improvements. Fig.

2 is a longitudinal central section thereof. Fig. 3 shows on a smallerscale a section of all the principal parts of the machine. Fig. 4: is across-section on the line 00 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section on the liney y, Fig. 2.

In the drawings I have shown a bed-frame, a carriage, a motor, and someof the gearing used in machines of the sort heretofore invented by me,each of which has upon the carriage a horizontal moving cutter -chain 25 adapted to form a kerf or undercut in coal of suitable Width and of aheight such that it freely permits the entrance of the forwardprojecting parts of the chain-frame or carriage. The chain carriescutters which travel around the chain-frame, the points of the cutterstraveling on a line indicated by the dotted line '6, Fig. 1, and in thedirection indicated by the arrow in said figure.

The bed-frame is indicated as a whole by 3 5 A, the carriage by B, andthe motor by O, the latter being mounted upon the rear end of thecarriage and moving therewith forward and back upon the bed, such motionbeing caused by racks and pinions. Instead of the details 0 of theseparts herein shown any others that are preferred can be employed. Thecarriage comprises the chain-frame, having one or morelongitudinally-arranged bars D and also a motor-frame or engine-frame atthe rear.

5 In machines of my preferred form use is made of a single centrallongitudinal thrust-bar, which projects forward from theengine-supporting or motor-supporting part of the carriage and isconnected at its front end to the transversely-arranged cutter-head D.The cutter-chain when traveling around its frame and when the cuttersare at work upon the coal tends to jerk or strain the frame more or lessin the direction opposite to thetravel ofthe cutter-chain. One of theobjects of the presout invention is to provide a mechanism which shallavoid the disadvantages incident to this section of the cutters, and thepurpose is to provide a holder for the carriage, which shall engage withthe coal over a prolonged 6o line-in fact, give a bracing support to thecarriage against side thrust over a distance practically equal to thatwhich the carriage extends into the kerf. Heretofore devices have beenused and proposed which were intended to accomplish this, but whichwerecapable of engagement with the coal only at a single point or over arelatively short line; and in most cases where the line of holding hadany extension at all the parts were of such nature that a relativelydeep channel or groove had to be formed in the coal supplemental to themain kerf formed by the chain. In the present construction a holder isprovided which does not require the cutting of any channel or groove,but which provides an elongated series of holding or brac ing points onlongitudinal lines,and by reason of the distribution of this actionthroughout the entire length of the projecting part of 8c the carriagebut little force is required at any one point to effect the holdingengagement with the coal.

The holding device is indicated as a whole by E. It consists of a chainwhose ends at e e are secured to the bed-frame. From the end of o itextends forward along the top of the bar D to an aperture at d, suitablynear the cutters at the front of the carriage, then down through saidaperture and along the under 0 side of the bar D, and thence up throughan aperture d to the end 6, fastened as aforesaid to the frame. Asuitable number of the links e of this chain are provided with spurs orprongs e and that partof the chain which lies on the upper part of thebar D is so arranged that each of the spurs can slightly penetrate thehorizontal wall of the coal, so as to effect a firm engagement. It willbe seen that as the chainframe enters the kerf in the coal formed by themain cutters the chain E will gradually pass from the under side of thebar D through the forward aperture d to the upper side of the bar D andthat each link after passing to said upper side is held stationarybecause of the rigid fastening of the end at e, which may be consideredas the rear end of the chain, from which stationary end the draft on thechain E is exerted during the forward movement of the carriage, and thechain is operated not bya drag on the coal,(through the projections eand tending to disengage them,) but by the draft at the point e exertedon the chain by this fixed point relative to the moving carriage. Thespurs in the machine herein described are merely pressed upward into thecoal, there being no tendency to have them move along the coal on thelines of carriage travel. The bed prevents the carriage from thus movingthe spurs and insures that they shall be merely embedded, thuspreventing the breaking down or shaling off of the coal layers. Again,as the links one after another pass to the upper side of the bar theirspurs e in succession attain a slight engagement with the coal and thusthe bar D and the carriage-frame are braced from end to end, the resultbeing to hold them against vibration and shaking and to keep them morerigidly in line than has been possible with any machine of which I haveknowledge. On the other hand, when the carriage is being with drawn fromthe kerf the draft on the chain E is exerted from the stationary end 6,which results in causing the chain-links at the front of the carriage tosuccessively pass down through the aperture (1 after withdrawing fromthe coal, then along the under side of the bar D, and finally up throughthe aperture d to the upper side of the bar D at its rear end. Rollersor sprocket-wheels, such as at F F, can be mounted in the apertures d dfor supporting the chain. At G an abutment is provided along the side ofthe chain, to which is transmitted any thrust that may be experienced bythe links. In order to hold the chain properly in line, this abutmentmay be formed as a flange-guideway d and the links e can be formed withflanges e. A similar guideway is provided on the under side of thecarriage for the purpose of hold- }ing the chain up out of engagementwith the oor.

To prevent the downthrust exerted by the holding devices from being feltby the carriage, I employ one or more shoes, as at H, secured atsuitable places and adapted to ride along the bottom of the cut.

What I claim is- 1. In a mining-machine, the combination of a bed, acarriage movable thereon, cutters mounted on the latter, and a holdingdevice comprising a chain secured at one or more points to the bedindependently of said carriage and adapted to travel with the carriageinto the kerf and to engage with a wall of the latter.

2. In a mining-machine, the combination of a bed, a carriage movablethereon, laterallyacting cutters on the carriage, and a holdingchainrigidly secured to the bed independently of said carriage and adapted tohave more or less of its links move from the lower side of the carriageto the upper side as the carriage advances and to have said links movein the opposite direction as the carriag recedes.

3. In a mining-machine, the combination of a bed, a carriage movablethereon, cutters mounted on the carriage, and a holding deviceconsisting of the chain provided with spurs and fixedly secured to thebed independently of said carriage, and having two supports on saidcarriage of which the front one is in advance of the point of attachmentto the bed and the rear one is behind such point of attachment.

4. In a mining-machine, the combinationof a bed, a carriage movablethereon, laterallyacting cutters on the carriage, and a holding devicehaving a series of coal-engaging pro-. jections which come successivelyinto action as the carriage advances, and each of which remainsstationary during its engagement with the coal, said holding devicebeing fixedly connected with the bed independently of said carriage.

5. In a mining-machine, the combination of the cutters, and a holdingdevice comprising an endless chain substantially one half or limb ofwhich is provided with coal-engaging projections and the other limb ofwhich is free from such projections.

6. Ina mining-machine, the combination of a fixed bed, a carriagemovable thereon, cutters on said carriage and a holding deviceconsisting of an endless chain adapted to engage a wall of the kerf andfixedly secured to the bed independently of said carriage, and asprocket-wheel engaging said chain. 7. In a mining-machine, thecombination of a fixed bed, a carriage movable thereon, cutters on saidcarriage, a holding device consisting of an endless chain adapted toengage the wall of the kerf, mounted at its forward turn on saidcarriage, and fixedly secured to the bed independently of said carriage,and a sprocket-wheel mounted on the carriage at the rear turn of andengaging said chain.

8. In a mining-machine, the combination with a carriage having a portionarranged to enter a kerf cut by the machine, and a series of cutterscarried by the carriage, of a holding device for the carriage consistingof an endless chain adapted to engage with a wall of the kerf andprovided with flanges e the chain being arranged with one portion orlimb above the carriage and another portion or limb below thecarriage,and supporting means for the lower limb or portion of theholdingchain arranged to engage with the flanges e and support thechain, substantially as set forth.

9. In a mining-machine, the combination with the carriage and thecutters, of a hold-= ing device consisting of an endless chain movableindependently of the cutters adapted to engage with a wall of the kerfand having flanges e, and a support on the under side of the carriagewith which the flanges of the chain engage arranged to hold the chainfrom sagging, substantially as set forth.

10.. In a mining-machine, the combination of the bed, the carriageadapted to move relative to the bed, the laterally-acting cutters on thecarriage, and the holding device consisting of a chain having its rearend connected with 'the said bed to be stationary therewith, and adaptedto travel with the said carriage into the kerf and to engage with thecoal on one side of the carriage. I

11. In a mining-machine, the combination of the bed, the carriageadapted to move relative to the bed, the cutters on the carriage and theholding-chain having both of its ends attached to the said bed andadapted to have its forward portion travel with the said carriage intothe kerf and engage with the coal on one side of the carriage.

12. In a mining-machine, the combination of the bed, the carriageadapted to move relative to the bed, the cutters on the carriage, andthe holding-chain having its rear end attached to the said bed andadapted to have certain of its links, at the forward portion of saidchain move from one side of the said earriage to the other side asthecarriage advances, and to have said links move in the oppositedirection as the carriage is receding.

13. In a mining-machine, the combination of the bed, the carriageadapted to move relative to the bed, the cutters on the carriage, andthe holding device consisting of a chain provided with spurs and at onepoint attached to and stationary with the said bed, and having twosupports on the said carriage of which the front one is in front of thepoint of attachment to the bed and the rear one is behind such point ofattachment.

14. In a mining-machine, the combination 6f the bed, the carriage, thecutters on the carriage adapted to move relative to the bed, and theholding device having a series of coal-engaging projections which comesuccessively into action as the said carriage advances and each of whichremains stationary during such advancing of the carriage, the saidholding device being at one point attached to and stationary with thesaid bed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY B. DIERDORFF.

Witnesses:

CYRUS I-IUToHINs, R. H. JEFFREY.

